[Histonet] FFPE cell pellet prep

[Kim Merriam]

Sorry - I forgot to put a subject line.


Good morning,

I am trying to make some nice FFPE cell pellet blocks, but I seem to lose a lot of cells along the way (especially when trying to take the cells out of the tube).  We are fixing the cells in NBF, spinning them down, adding 70% and spinning down again.  At that point, I am trying to scoop out the cells (with a weighing scoop) and wrap them in lens paper for processing.  I am losing a lot of the cells during this step, because the pellet is not quite solid.  Do you think it would be OK to let the cells air-dry a bit and then take them out for processing?  I know this goes against everything I was taught in histology, but I am really at a loss here.

Anyone have any hot tips for me?

Kim
 Kim Merriam, MA, HT(ASCP)QIHC
Cambridge, MA